A while ago Colyngbourne originated a well received little competition on 50 word openings. I thought we could have another go at something similar.

Mini Saga's are 50 word stories, rather than just openings, and must have a start, a middle and an ending. The form was popularised by the Daily Telegraph's regular competition, and more can be read about them here.

Some examples I have half-inched from the Telegraph sites are below.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mary Ann Slater

War and Pieces
"Edge pieces first," he decrees.

All others are rounded up, segregated."Blues into the blue pile, browns into the brown. Do not mix them." My moves are restricted (a tree here, a cloud there), while he attacks the castle.

I smuggle a piece into my pocket: the revolution has begun.

Quote:

Originally Posted by K C Holt

The Price of Freedom
"I accept," he whispered.

"Good," said the General, "then you are reprieved.""Executions begin at dawn, your job is to fit the nooses and push the condemned off the scaffold edge."

"Will I wear a hood?"

"No," said the General gently, "but your father and your brother will be blindfolded."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Shaw

On-the-Spot Interview With the First Person to Swim the Atlantic, Underwater
Passing a towel, I begin: "Why?"Goggles removed and welt-framed eyes wincing, he touches it gently to his pallid face.

So there we are. No time limit on entries, and submit as many as you like. To enter, do a reply to this message, so that they are all kept in the same place. Also, if you want to comment on the excellence (or otherwise) of someone else's efforts, then do the same, just reply to this thread.

Prizes? Er... I know, the person judged by their peers to have produced the best effort will be awarded the rank (you know, where it says "Is a regular" or whatever under you avatar) of "Mini Saga Champion".

Right, this is my first effort. No laughing at the back.
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Wavid sat in front of the computer, the synapses in his brain throbbing in search of inspiration. His fingers poised just above the keyboard, ready to pounce upon the merest hint of an original thought and record it upon the screen.

By twenty-one, Billy had been married, divorced, sworn on national television, run a multi-million dollar international company, been declared bankrupt, appeared on the New York Times book list, slept rough, toured the world in 5 star hotels and burnt every bridge he had known.

I knew something was wrong when I could no longer get the right amount of instant coffee in my cup. Tapping the spoon on the rim of the jar, it had always been just right; now, it was too strong, or too weak.

The diagnosis comes on Thursday.

__________________Currently reading: The Way to Bright Star: Dee Brown.

It is 16,000 BC and the mammoths are facing the vicious intrusions of humankind.

Longtusk the Bull leads the mammoths away to a new land, safe from men. Silverhair the heroine belongs to the last herd, dwindling towards extinction on a frozen island at the edge of the Siberian tundra.